English language schools leaving teachers unpaid, educators' union says

Teachers of English as a foreign language have been left unpaid by their schools in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, the educators' union said.

The Union of Professional Educators (UPE) lamented that its members in the TEFL industry received no pay for the hours they worked last month, a situation which has left them in significant financial difficulty.

"The Union of Professional Educators – Voice of the Workers has been dealing with several issues which its members from English language schools have been forwarding. Many of these members have been left stranded with no pay for hours worked in the month of March rendering their position in these exceptional times, extremely vulnerable," the union said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Most of these teachers approached their employers, in goodwill, to have the situation rectified as soon as possible, only to be told that the schools had no funds to spare to cover their wages, and that as a result the money they were owed could not be forwarded at this point in time. No clear indication was given to these workers as to when they would receive their wages either, thus leaving them in a very difficult financial position and further burdened with a level of stress which cannot be contemplated in these difficult times."

The teachers were also requested by their schools to continue working online, despite no guarantee in the near future of being paid, and, when they complained, were threatened that their application fo government grants would not be filed on their behalf, the UPE said.

"The teachers’ reluctance to perform their duties under such circumstances was met with a threat on the employers’ behalf. These employers informed their teachers that should they refuse to work under the current conditions, the application for government grants on their behalf would not be forwarded for processing."

The UPE said it was shocked at the insensitivity and cruelty of the teachers' employers. "They are allowing their teachers, many of whom live hand to mouth, to face a crisis of unprecedented proportions with nothing in hand to guarantee their survival, and even implying that they have the right to deny these teachers the grants which are rightfully theirs unless they comply to bullying tactics which will in no way guarantee their well-being or livelihood," it highlighted.

The union warned that the schools were in breach of employment regulations, and said that they could face criminal action by the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER).

"Given the current scenario, the union has decided to take action so as to protect its members from ending up in irreversible dire straits. These schools are in breach of Chapter 452, clause 22 [of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act[ and the union does not exclude the possibility of the DIER initiating criminal proceedings against them," it underlined.